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It’s hard to believe that only three weeks ago I had nothing packed, I owned no heels, collared shirts, or blazers, I hadn’t shaved in months and, lord have mercy, I was cold. This evening I’m in Sacramento having packed, bought new clothes and adjusted my personal hygiene routine to include a razor (god, and makeup!) and gotten myself all the way to California to start an internship at KCRA 3 News. It’s pretty exciting.

My first day was short; I went in, met the intern coordinator sat in on a ‘cut-in,’ or a very, very short newscast during a break from the syndicated national stuff, and left. My second first day was orientation: apparently KCRA has it’s intern herd, as it were, I was among 18 or so other college students that were orientated today. I think I’m the youngest; from what I heard, pretty much everyone else was a junior or higher.

It’s not to say the orientation was dull…I’m just itching to dive in and get this started. I wasn’t feeling ecstatic, but when the intern coordinator mentioned she thought it would be good for me to work for/under one of the investigative journalists in the news room, my heart jumped…then it leaped as we walked into the main studio. I don’t even want to anchor, but there was something so exciting about seeing it all right in front of me. I’m not going to lie, I know I watch way too much television, and that news is way more hard work than they make it look like in those dramas…but I don’t care.

I know this internship is going to be a challenge, not just because I know absolutely nothing about television. I’m in a brand new place, with brand new people. At least I speak the language, so there’s a leg up from Spain. Still, I can’t wait to see what I learn, to see how I change. For now, I need a little time to adjust, to acclimate to my new environment, because whatever my fantasies, I’m not an adaptable person.

So, I start my THIRD first day tomorrow with the investigative reporter. I met him briefly today and he seems very interested in helping me out and really teaching me a lot while I’m here. This is going to be great…let’s get started!